Patient Preference and Adherence (Jul 2019)
From drug-delivery device to disease management tool: a study of preferences for enhanced features in next-generation self-injection devices
Abstract
Marco Boeri,1 Boglarka Szegvari,2 Brett Hauber,3 Brennan Mange,3 Irina Mountian,2 Michael Schiff,4 Nikolaos Maniadakis51RTI Health Solutions, Belfast, UK; 2UCB Pharma, Brussels, Belgium; 3RTI Health Solutions, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA; 4Rheumatology Division, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO, USA; 5Health Services Management, National School of Public Health, Athens, GreecePurpose: To quantify rheumatology patient preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for features differentiating enhanced from standard self-injection devices and to investigate differences among subgroups.Patients and methods: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) were recruited in the UK. A discrete-choice experiment was used to elicit preferences; respondents were presented with 10 choices between 3 different devices: a free standard disposable device, and 2 hypothetical reusable devices characterized by presence/absence of skin sensor, injection speed control, on-screen instructions, injection reminders, electronic log, and large grip. Every hypothetical device included a cost component to assess WTP for each enhanced feature. A random-parameters logit model was used to estimate preference weights and WTP.Results: Data were collected from 323 respondents by electronic survey (15/11/2017–15/02/2018; RA: 108; PsA: 103; axSpA: 112). On average, the skin sensor was the most preferred feature (£30), followed by injection speed control, injection reminders, electronic log (∼£20 each), on-screen instructions (∼£12), and a device with a small, rather than large grip (∼£7). Similar preferences for attributes were observed across condition subgroups except for grip size: axSpA patients preferred small grip (∼£27); PsA patients preferred large grip (∼£19). Overall, respondents preferred reusable devices with all enhanced features (WTP value: £85) over the standard device. RA patients exhibited a higher WTP (£145) than PsA (£102) or axSpA (£62) for the same enhanced device.Conclusion: Patients positively valued reusable self-injection devices with enhanced features, which may improve patient experience, potentially improving treatment adherence, clinical, and economic outcomes.Keywords: rheumatology, subcutaneous injection, self-administration, patient preference, discrete-choice experiment
